For purposes of transportation, storage, and/or sale, filled bodies, such as bottles, cans, or similar packed goods are often packaged together in a bundle of several such bodies. Several bodies, for instance, are packed together in completely sealed cartons in one manufacturing process.
A further possibility is the use of so-called trays or pads on which the bodies, especially bottles, are placed. In order to fasten them together, foil is additionally wrapped around the majority of bottles and they are subsequently heat-shrunk. The foil can, however, also be used without applying trays or pads, namely in a so-called “shrink-only” process.
A major disadvantage of the processes described consists in the necessary use of additional packaging materials, i.e. in utilizing additional costly packaging material in combination with the appropriate packing machines. An especially adverse effect is the high energy consumption for shrinking the outer packaging in the shrink tunnel.
Functional bodies with connecting elements are known from DE 102004047830 A1. Said document shows a bottle with latches or snap-fits for connecting a number of such bottles to form constructive units. In this way, these units can be conveniently transported and stored and can be put to versatile uses when empty. In an empty condition the bodies are thereby easy to collect and to stack, whereas the latched connections require considerable effort for disconnecting.
DE 202005019327 U1 describes a body from plastic with a minimum of one notch, variable in depth and length, across at least a portion of the body. In the present case, the notch serves to withstand the pressure of carbonated drinks, in order to avoid a highly visible deformation of the bottle.
GB 18752 A shows a bottle with ribs arranged in a longitudinal direction, intended to prevent the bottles from rolling about, especially when they are arranged to lie on top of each other.
JP 52-96169 A shows a bottle with an octagonal outer cross-section and a circular inner cross-section, whereby the octagonal outer cross-section enables optimal close packing of a number of bottles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,199 A shows an improved light weight bottle which is stackable. The bottle is preferably of rectangular cross-section with parallel, oppositely disposed mating indentations or elevations, permitting secure and space-saving stacking of the bottles.
The U.S. Design Pat. No. D52,0376 S shows a bottle form comparable to a puzzle piece with circular indentations on two and appropriate circular projections on the other two sides. The bottles can therefore be connected in the fashion of puzzle, forming a horizontal plane when lying.
WO 1990008068 A1 shows a bottle with a minimum of two indentations or recesses along the outer bottle surface, resulting in at least two handles, which are intended to allow a baby or infant to easily hold the bottle by itself.
WO 2008002579 A2 describes interlocking rectangular bodies made from plastic with the lateral area featuring at least two movable vacuum panels. The shoulder region and the base portion of the body define an interlocking structure suitable to achieve a nesting relationship with complementary mating surfaces of the adjacent bodies.